Canada's brand now 7th most valuable in the world

Canada has been able to position itself as an open and welcoming country. Not surprisingly, the country's brand strength improved the most in key areas measuring society wellbeing, training, and education.

Brand Finance reports on the world's most valuable nation brands

In the global digital economy, investors are faced with more options than ever, with decisions coming down to both financial and emotional arguments – and that's where place-branding comes into play. Brand Finance is the U.K. –based brand valuation firm behind Nation Brands, an annual report that quantifies the benefits of a strong nation brand, bridging the gap between marketing and finance by valuing the intangible assets that drive a nation's enduring success.

"The appreciation of the Canadian dollar has been one of the key factors that contributed to the increased nation brand value," says Bill Ratcliffe, Insights Director, Brand Finance North America. "In 2017, Canada saw its first interest rate increase in seven years which strengthened the currency. On the back of that, the Canadian economy has been steaming ahead with better than expected GDP performance over the last year, resulting in improved long-term forecasts."

Attraction of well-educated and motivated newcomers is a boost to Canada's thriving tech sector

Also of importance is that while other countries close their doors, Canada has been able to position itself as an open and welcoming country, Ratcliffe explains, and that has supported the rapid growth of Canada's tech sector. “Not surprisingly,” he says, “the country's brand strength improved the most in key areas measuring society wellbeing, training, and education, with rapid access to tech workers helping to drive Canada's metrics up.” In fact, North America's 2nd largest IT cluster, which is situated in Ontario, Canada, was able to create more than 77,000 jobs between 2010 and 2015 alone – more than New York and Massachusetts combined. In addition to an open business immigration policy, tech firms setting up in Ontario can benefit from IT salary costs that are 30%-34% lower than what can be found in Boston or New York.